Managing Motivation by Channelizing and Harnessing Human Resource

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Further, we tried to understand the impact of the acquisition on employees' professional and personal lives. With the new office timings, employees started getting less time to spend with their families and for their interests or hobbies, which is not a good sign. Especially, in the creative field, such self-enrichment is essential. Earlier, employees did end up working quite a few Saturdays willingly but now that it’s compulsory, everyone dreads it. This has had an impact on employees’ personal lives and on their professional ones by causing a lack of self- actualization. Though all the people now attend office on Saturdays, their motivation is hampered and productivity is compromised. Employees limit themselves to what is needed

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instead of going out of the way to exceed management expectations. New management has brought in new systems and support teams to handle technical

problems which is a better scenario than before. However, Corporation A employees perceive the new systems as a waste of time due to all the compliance activities and procedures to be followed along with it. As per Maslow’s theory of hierarchy, all the above observations lead to a clear indication that employees are failing to attain own needs at all the levels except physiological level, which signifies the lack of motivation. Hence, employees are not open to any new ideas or concepts, which is not the case when they have a positive attitude towards their work.

Our next question was aimed to understand how did the selected employees manage pressure during post-acquisition implementation period. A senior management employee informed that new management had an induction where they nominated function-wise people whom employees could approach. However, considering the limitations of the number of times an employee could approach them there was some insecurity and discomfort. Hence, employees would approach the senior management of corporation A for emotional and professional support. In this case, the goal of corporation A was to be well informed about the whole scenario at the workplace. However, the main priority of Corporation B was to fulfill business needs and maintain profits. This difference in the goals of the two merged corporations led to a loss of acceptance and commitment among the employees of both the corporations.

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Conclusion

This section concludes the case study and presents the plan of action, limitations to implement the suggested plan of action and limitations of the study. The acquisition activities tend to be quite stressful for managers and employees of the organization being merged. As participants’ responses show, employees experienced a loss of self-confidence and began to question their ability to deal with the events. The employee interviews for this case study indicate that acquisitions seriously impact the motivation, morale, and ultimate dedication of employees to the organization if not managed properly. To facilitate a smooth transition and keep the employees motivated post-acquisition, the organization should take sustained efforts as it might impact employee performance and organization reputation in the long run.

In order to make post-acquisition period smooth, top management of new corporation should first focus on the employees and their motivational problems. They must inquire on a regular basis about what motivates the employees and makes their motivation persistent for their work. We also realized that the role of managers as a bridge between top management and employees to increase and maintain employee motivation is a very crucial one.

Plan of action:

Communication is the key. Firstly, all the managers (Corporation A and Corporation B) should be prepared for taking up the communication task. Especially, the managers with Corporation A since they have been the trusted sources of information. However, the most important being that managers must restrain to assume that factors of their own motivation and employees’ motivation are same in nature. Managers should be assigned specific and timely goals for a performance review to increase team motivation which can be gauged by employee performance and feedback. Provide opportunities like scheduling one-on-ones between managers

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and their reporting employees to understand what their needs are – gauge their intrinsic motivation, as all people are fundamentally motivated by needs. Also, to ask questions, raise concerns, and provide feedback about what is happening at work which will make them feel well informed.

Figure 1: Key factors that can boost employee motivation

Motivate employees by assuring that all their skills, capabilities would get a bigger canvas, scope and scale to operate into a mutually beneficial, enriching relationship. Plan employee development programs which will allow hard workers to fulfill their ambitions. It also shows that corporation is committed towards employees. Secondly, try to align employee goals with their team’s goals, which increases motivation and hence productivity. Along with that, employee recognition/rewards programs can be implemented since motivation is a function of ratio of Rewards to Effort - Equity theory. Employee feedback and participation should be used to foster a sense of inclusion, also implement their ideas to the possible extent, which makes them feel valued. Use regular metrics and reports to demonstrate how employee contributions achieve organizational goals and provide clear short-term milestones for employees to work towards.

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What should they continue to do:

New management had planned inductions and assigned mentors for a smoother transition. They, should continue providing support along with more informal sessions to employees of corporation A to make them feel worthy, important and reassure them that acquisition process is mutually beneficial and organization values what they bring to the table. What could have been done better:

As per the employees’